Spain protests Prince Edward’s Gibraltar visit

The Earl and Countess of Wessex, seen here during their trip to Afghanistan
last year, will visit Gibraltar this June as a part of the celebration of
Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee. 

The Spanish Government through its Foreigh Office has issued a formal protest over the upcoming visit of the Earl and Countess of Wessex to Gibraltar, a British territory that sits on Spain’s southwestern corner.

Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, are scheduled to visit Gibraltar on June 11-13 to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The complaint is not unusual. Last year, the Prince of the Asturias raised the centuries-old dispute in time when the Prince of Wales paid a visit to Madrid. In 2009, similar protest was made when Princess Anne visited the British territory.

Spain ceded Gibraltar to Great Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, although the kingdom has long argued that it should be returned to Spanish sovereignty.

However, a 2002 referendum overwhelmingly rejected a deal of shared sovereignty with much of the population demanding to remain a part of Great Britain.